Without hesitation, I whispered out from the shadows and whirled toward Phelan. I kept my sword held steady before me, my eyes narrowed, my body tensed to fight. He let out a laugh, and then shook his head.

“Should have known you’d come here,” he said. “You had the chance of safety in that little Academy of yours, and yet you decided to throw yourself in the middle of a fight you don’t belong in.”

“Oh, I belong. You made certain of that.” I twisted my hand around the hilt. “You used me. Why? So you could watch the other Courts tear themselves apart? You couldn’t stand the idea of yours being the only one to fall?”

“You really don’t understand, do you?” He shook his head when I didn’t respond. “The isn’t about the Springs or the Winters. It isn’t even about us. Queen Viola is the rightful ruler, and I’m to be her King.” He spread his arms wide, and my eyes darted to watch the movement of his sword. He wasn’t keeping it held in front of him anymore. He was relaxing, letting down his guard. “This is just a diversion, though it certainly kills two birds with one stone. The Winter guard has come in the night to attack the Spring fae. While they’re down here fighting—and winning against—the Spring fae, guess who is left unprotected, save for a handful of Hunters?”

My stomach flipped, and I swallowed hard. “The Winter Royals.”

“Ah, see.” He grinned. “You’re not as dumb as you look.”

“You are though,” I countered, trying to keep him talking while I tried to determine my best next move. “If you really think Queen Viola is going to name you her King, then I think you’re going to end up very disappointed. Face it, Phelan. She’s using you just as much as she used me. And everyone else around her.”

Phelan’s eyes narrowed. “Enough. Drop your sword and come with me.”

“Fat chance in hell.”

“If you don’t come with me, I’ll kill her.” He nodded at where his two Hunters still held a tight grip on my roommate’s arms. I’d been trying to keep my focus on Phelan and appear as relaxed as possible. I didn’t want him to know just how quickly my heart raced and just how much dread had filled my gut. If he realized just how in control he was, I’d never win against him.

“That would only work if I cared.” I lifted my shoulder in a shrug. “You picked the wrong changeling. She’s the one who betrayed me.”

Phelan’s jaw flickered. “Then, I’m glad I left several of my Hunters to keep a close eye on your Academy. They’ve killed all your guards, by the way. So now, if you don’t come with me, I will not only kill her but I’ll give the order to kill the rest of them. She might not matter to you, but they will.”

My heart lurched. Phelan could be bluffing. There was no proof of what he said. He’d only brought Sophia before me. If he wanted to threaten all of the changelings, surely he would have brought more than just one. But, of course, I couldn’t challenge his bluff. Not when so many lives could be at stake. Instead, I needed to distract him.

“Why are you doing all of this?” I asked, lowering my hands as if I were letting down my guard—I wasn’t. “Why would you want to cause so much death and destruction? Is becoming King really worth losing so many lives? Does power truly mean that much to you?”

Phelan frowned and took a step back, as if my question had caught him off guard. “It isn’t about power, changeling, at least not completely. It’s about Queen Viola taking her rightful place as the ruler of this realm.”

“By killing everyone?” I barked out a bitter laugh. “If she was the rightful ruler, surely she wouldn’t have to do all of this. Surely she wouldn’t have to fight so hard for the crown.”

He frowned. “That isn’t how the magic of this realm works. It doesn’t just give power away. It must be earned.”

“I know what they’re planning to do,” Sophia said in a rushed, panicked voice.

Eyes raised, I turned to face my roommate. She caught my gaze and then looked away. Guilt pounded through me, partly at my words and partly at being the reason she was now caught up in this. I hadn’t meant what I’d said, not in the least, but it had been the only thing I could think of at the time, the only way I could save her. If Phelan did not believe she meant anything to me, then maybe he would spare her in the end.

Maybe he still wasn’t the monster he was so determined to become.

Sophia took a deep breath and plowed forward. “Ever since I saw you do all that crazy stuff in the Autumn woods, I’ve been curious about your powers. You didn’t seem like you wanted to talk about it, so I...kind of started researching it by myself.”

I opened my mouth, more shocked and confused than anything else.

“Please don’t get angry. I didn’t tell anyone about it. I just asked if we could get some more history books brought into the library. And by history books, I mean really, really old history books.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Phelan snapped, and the two Summer fae tightened their grips on Sophia’s arms.

But that had absolutely zero effect on my roommate. She kept storming ahead like the unstoppable fae she was. “A very long time ago, another Autumn fae attempted to take control of the realm. She made a bargain with the demons, one that would allow her to wield the powers of all four Courts. However, in order to become the Queen she imagined herself to be and bind that magic to herself, she had to kill the other rulers and destroy their crowns.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Destroy their crowns.”

“That’s right,” Phelan said in a grunt. “Why the hell else would she be bothering? She has to put all four crowns together, and then burn them before dousing out the flames with ice. After tonight, this realm will be hers.”

Heavy footsteps pounded the ground behind Sophia and her captors. Several pale Hunters strode into view, a polar opposite of Phelan’s Summer form. They were graceful and smooth, and their eyes glittered with the light of the stars. Their dark hair hung in loose waves over their pointed ears, and they brought with them the scent of mist and snow. Each of them held a bow, and quivers of arrows were strapped onto their backs. And their movements were like the very depths of darkness itself.

“We killed the King and got the crown.” The tall, thin male held up a crown of twisting branches full of bright and vivid flowers. My heart lurched. King Deri’s crown. They didn’t. They couldn’t have. “It was easy enough to get inside. They were unprepared. It is strange though. This place does not look as if they are preparing for war.”

Phelan merely grunted. “Spring fae are strange creatures. There is no rhyme nor reason to how they deal with things.”

The Winter Hunter narrowed his eyes, so slightly that I barely saw a shift in his icy expression. “Some might say that about the Summer fae.”

Phelan curled his hands into fists and stalked across the patio to where the two Winter soldiers were observing him with calculating eyes. “I am nothing like a Spring fae.”

“Indeed. A Spring fae would never target two innocent changelings who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” The Winter fae cocked his head. “In fact, is this not the changeling you described? The one who helped us all? It is strange that you would threatening her after she risked her life to collect enemy plans for us.”

“He’s tricked—”

Phelan had his hand over my mouth before I could warn the Winter soldiers, and the Hunter holding Sophia did the same. “You’ve got your changelings mixed up. These two were working with the Spring fae against you.”

Sophia screamed into the Hunter’s hand.

Everything else happened so quickly. The Winter fae sprang into action, nocking arrows in their hand-carved bows. The Hunters holding Sophia jumped back, and she twisted away from their grip. She ran to me, leaping over the bannister to join me on the patio. And before I knew what was happening, she’d slammed a dagger right into Phelan’s side.

He roared, and his hands dropped away from my face. Seeing my chance, I grabbed my sword and swung it around at his neck. But Phelan was quick on his feet, dodging my blow just in time. Our swords collided, steel against steel. One blow after another until my entire body was spent. I stumbled back to catch my breath and tighten my grip on my sword. Phelan stormed forward, a cry of rage ripping from his throat.

But just before he reached me, an arrow whooshed by my ear and slammed into Phelan’s neck. His eyes went wide, and then he fell.

I gripped Sophia’s hand and pulled her to my side. Together, we whirled to face our attackers. The two other Summer Hunters were dead, and now the Winters had their arrows aimed right at our heads.

“Is it true?” the Winter fae asked. “Have you been working against us with the Spring fae? Is this all some kind of trap?”

“No.” I said, holding up my hands. “I mean, it is some kind of trap, but I’m not the one who set it. Phelan has been working with Queen Viola all this time. They were trying to create a diversion and distract everyone so she could go after your Queen and King. She wants the crowns.” I gestured at the King’s crown in the fae’s hands. “She wants to take over the realm.”

“A diversion?” The fae swore under his breath. “I should have known. I should have realized I could never trust a Summer.” He turned toward his fellow soldier. “We need to gather the others and get back to our Queen as soon as possible, though I fear we may be too late.”

His fellow soldier nodded and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“Wait,” I said when he turned to go as well. “Did he just shift? How are you doing that? I thought all the borders were closed.”

“King Deri cast the magic to protect his borders, but he is no longer alive. The magic died with him.” The Winter’s expression turned pained. “And our Queen reversed the magic so we could get down here quickly and return home just as fast. Anyone can shift in and out of Winter right now. We’ve left her vulnerable.”

And with that, he was gone, along with the King’s crown.

* * *

Sophia and I found nothing but carnage as we searched the castle for any sign of life. The throne room was a graveyard. The Queen and King sat on their thrones with arrows protruding from their skulls. Every single Hunter they’d had to protect them had fallen just the same. No one had seen the Winter fae coming, and it looked as though no one had been alive to see them leave. Except for me and Sophia.

Worry knotted my stomach. So far, I’d seen no signs of my instructors or of Alwyn. It was almost as if they’d never even been here. We checked their quarters, the grounds outside, and we even checked the dungeons. And every time we passed another body, fear gripped my heart, fear until I saw that it wasn’t a familiar face, it wasn’t one of the males I was growing to love.

“I don’t understand,” I said when we had finally explored every inch of the castle grounds and had returned once again to the throne room. “They wouldn’t have just left me here.”

“Look.” Sophia pointed at a form in the furthest corner. One that was moving.

I sprinted across the floor and dropped to the male fae’s side, pressing my hands against a massive gash on his throat. He stared up at me, eyes wide, mouth bubbling with blood. I closed my eyes and focused my power on this fae. My hands warmed; my soul churned. All my power fled from the very depths of me and into this fae’s body.

As always, I passed out.

Sometime later, I cracked open my eyes and saw Sophia kneeling beside me. Within seconds, her words began to tumble out of her mouth. “The fae you healed saw what happened. Some Autumn fae shifted here after the Winters attacked. They took Kael and the others. Queen Viola has your mates.”